First Baton Competition

My twirlie girlies went to their first baton competition this past weekend. They only participated in the marching portion of the contest, but enjoyed watching other girls perform in the other events. Honestly they were bored watching, so next year they plan to twirl in every event.

The only downside to having three twirlers in one family is that they will constantly compete against each other. But they all have talent, so they should do well individually. Besides, twirling is just good sisterly fun for them right now.

Caitie, the graduating feature twirler (talk about talent! She's amazing!) for the University of South Carolina, has coached them for the past 6 months. She also dressed them for this competition--she looked through her stash from her younger years and let the girls borrow them. We are so thankful for Caitie and her Christian influence in the girls' lives.

Never thought I'd be parenting three twirlers, but I find the sport fascinating and my girls make it look so easy! :D

Recent Events

Recent events--like the fact that my kids are growing up--have prompted me to limit my computer time, thus almost eliminating my blog time. Having a 4th grader who likes to research and write, 2 3rd graders who live in Webkinz World and a toddler who thinks Thomas the Train and author Frank Asch are online just for him, leaves me little time to connect to rest of the world.

So here's a quick recap of our lives:

Yesterday was a beautiful Easter day. I love this holiday for it's significance and also for the fact that it hasn't been totally ruined by commercialism. I made the girls' dresses this year and it was probably the biggest sewing undertaking yet as it was my first time with lining a dress and adding a zipper. What a blessing to make something so bright and beautiful for my little ladies!

My kids are also proving themselves crafty.

Both Cayli and Mabry made coverings to send to an overseas orphanage for special needs children via Reece's Rainbow.

Cayli cut squares into every piece of fabric she could find and sewed them together for a quilt. She put together the entire piece by herself, inspired by all the times she has watched her Granny quilt.

Mabry loves to crochet and was the first kid to jump on the opportunity to use what she does best to benefit another child. She picked bright colors to crochet together.

It's a blessing to see my girls use their hands to brighten someone else's day!

Another thing we recently started is Kids Cook Friday. Every Friday one of the girls gets some much-needed mommy time in the kitchen. Typically, at day's hectic end, I send the girls outside to play while I prepare dinner. I get somewhat of a breather being by myself, but it doesn't serve the girls well. I realized they had very limited kitchen skills. So I use Fridays as the day for one child to help in the kitchen. I get one-on-one time and she gets a fun Friday of culinary experiences.

Each child prepares a menu from the main dish to dessert, makes a grocery list, gathers the ingredients at the store and then tells me what to do to help cook. I simply assist in the kitchen and allow each girl a chance to grow in responsibility. This has probably been one of the best things we've ever done as a family!

Until next time,

Bible Scribe

As of today my kids are beginning a reading and writing journey to discover the life of Jesus. I recently downloaded the Bible Scribe pages from the History Scribe site.

Every day they will have a pre-chosen passage to read, a place to illustrate what they read, another place to write a key verse from the passage and a writing section to summarize their reading. In a month or so, they will have a book of drawings, Bible verses and reflections about the life of Jesus.

Since testing is on the horizon and my rambunctious kids can't sit in a chair, much less be quiet, for half an hour, I set a 30-minute timer for them to practice focusing while they complete their page. I feel silly having them practice the "skill of quietness" but these kids are wired for nonstop activity and silence has a steep learning curve.

Even with the hefty time requirements, the kids enjoy these pages. The end result will be priceless!

What a treat!

Our church hosted a spiritually rich concert last night, featuring Keith and Kristyn Getty.

From Ireland, they are pioneers of modern hymns for the world. They have a passion to express scripture and solid theological truths in music, far surpassing the fluffiness in Christian music that's been floating around for awhile.

When I'm in the car or room, I'll play either one of these CDs for an uplifting praise and worship time. In the busyness of my home, their music supplies a lifeline of encouragement and creates a spiritual focal point solely on God and not the chaotic world around me.

My girls enjoyed hearing them, also. They knew many songs already and the concert--complete with an Irish fiddle and a set of pipes--had them dancing jigs in their sleep.

Blizzard of '10

We received over 8 inches of snow--the largest I have ever seen in my life! And the most our state has received since 1973. It is absolutely beautiful!

"Who's woods these are, I think I know...."

Love my Robert Frost scenery.

You see those few flakes? That's called a blizzard, according to my kids.

Yes, I know it started yesterday, but today was glorious! What a treat for Valentine's!

Mabry had to practice snow angels. Seriously, this is the first she has ever made:

My uncle came by to help unstick Matt's work vehicle that slid into a neighbors gate and stayed there. Micah would have preferred to just ride the tractor.

We did lose power for a few hours last night and got the joy of watching the snow gleam in the moonlight. This snowfall has made all of our Little House on the Prairie readings even more memorable.

We also figured out that a whole lot of snow and a little sweetened condensed milk, along with a handful of chocolate chips, makes for a delicious snow cream!